GOOG Down As Market Finds Footing Stocks opened higher with retail stocks in focus after Best Buy posted higher-than-expected profit. Light trading volume suggests that optimism is limited, and we could see a sideways market amidst global uncertainties. Shares of GOOG are down in early trading in an up tech tape. Upcoming catalysts include Android momentum on smartphones and tablets; regaining ground in China and pushing into other emerging markets; updated software, adoption and media partners for Google TV; and progress in other newer initiatives (location-based services, mapping, gaming, etc.). The stock trades at approximately 14x Enterprise Value / EBIT, inexpensive relative to historical trading levels and the broader Internet group.

Google Launches New Online Magazine (Mashable)Google has quietly launched its own full-length online magazine, a quarterly publication whose aim is to create “breathing space in a busy world.” The first edition of Think Quarterly is a visually stunning piece of work. It’s unclear whether the new online magazine is another sign that Google is entering the media business or whether it’s just a project to feed the company’s intellectual curiosity.

Baidu Creating OS, But Won't Hit Market For A Few Years (Financial Times)It’s been rumored for a while that Baidu is keen on getting into the smartphone space with its own operating system for mobiles and tablets. Now, CEO Robin Li says that he envisions a pared-down mobile OS that takes only one second to start up, and features only one thing on the home screen: a search box, which would be used to navigate to everything else. It could take as long as three to five years before this OS hits the market. Baring more government regulation / blockage, Google (and Apple) should amass quite a lead in that time.

Can Firefox 4 Speed Win Back Chrome Users? (TechCrunch)Firefox 4, the first full release of Mozilla's popular browser in nearly three years, combines user-interface, performance and Web-standards support enhancements with new provisions for making user data both more and less accessible across the network. Not sure if the upgrade is enough to make users want to come back from defectees to Chrome over the last year. But Firefox is once again on the list of possibilities.

Daily Trader: Don't Let the High Stock Price Fool You (Seeking Alpha)Investors, particularly ones on a budget, often buy into the notion that they have no business buying stocks with high share prices. Intuition often runs counter to reality. Cheap stocks are priced low for a reason. The 18.21 shares of GOOG budget investors could have purchased one year ago with $10,000 would be worth $10,604 today; a solid 6% return.